The Risk of the Unwilling
by JMHaughey
Summary: Set Post Daredevil, pre Blizzard. Hannah is gone, leaving Booth and Brennan to navigate the minefield that has become their partnership. Brennan is ready...but is she willing to fight for it? Collaboration with the amazing Laffers18. . .


A/N Laffers and I had written this last summer. We just tucked it away and forgot about it. Until, today. So much time on Skype and a lot of emails - figuring out if this was a good idea

Thanks, Laffers!

Something different. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Hahaha.

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><p>Another case closed.<p>

Brennan leaned back in her chair, her eyes falling shut as relief settled over her. She'd finally finished up her paper work for the day and was looking forward to going home. Booth watched her from the doorway, his eyes running over her slowly. She looked tired, and he hesitated for the briefest moment before knocking lightly on the inside of her door. Brennan forced her eyes to open and looked up.

"Booth." She smiled at him automatically even as she cocked her head at him, a question in her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Bones, it's time to treat ourselves to an after case drink. Chop chop." Booth smiled charmingly at her as he clapped his hands together.

"But we don't do that anymore." She remarked softly. It had been several weeks since they socialized outside of the normal case parameters and Brennan couldn't deny that she had missed it. Missed him. Yet she had forced herself to follow the restrictions Booth had set on their relationship.

"I know." His smile dimmed slightly. "But that's why I am here. It's about time we change that so come on…let's go!" He grabbed her coat to hurry her along, his smile widening as she gave in and stood to join him.

They walked to the Founding Fathers together. As they stepped inside, no words were needed as they immediately went to _their _table. The bartender noticed them and brought the usual. A glass of red wine. A beer. Two shots.

Booth smiled and picked up his shot glass, illustrating to Brennan, it was time. "Here's to partners. . . yada yada, yada. We're back, Bones. Drink up."

Brennan paused and left her shot untouched. She watched him carefully, her expression torn as she considered his words.

"I don't want to be to back." She said quietly.

Booth turned sharply in his chair, his expression incredulous. He fought the instant panic that had arisen and forced himself to remain calm.

"What do you mean? You don't want to be back?" He asked her. When she remained silent a thought occurred to him and what little control he had began to splinter. "You don't want to be partners anymore?" His voice rose as he demanded an answer.

"I do want to be partners, Booth." Her gaze was intense as she tried to reassure him and she placed a hand on his arm. "I do." She repeated firmly, relieved when the vulnerable expression on his face cleared. "It's just that…" She took a deep breath, unsure of the reaction her next words would cause but unable to keep them to herself. "The idea of continuing our…" she stumbled over the next word, "partnership while it remains unchanged is not a satisfying option for me."

Booth stared silently at her, his gaze hooded as he processed her words. The initial feeling of pleasure he had felt died as quickly as it had come, leaving him confused and unsure. His eyes fell to her untouched shot and he reached over, downing it quickly and relishing the burn as the liquid hit the back of his throat. He placed the empty glass back on the table, his hand curling around it as he sought for the right words. He glanced at her, hating the vulnerability he could see in her eyes.

"Bones…" He said slowly. "Can't we just…return to how things were? Before everything got so…messy." As she only continued to stare he sighed heavily. "Yeah, I know…I know…everything changes. Evolution and all that, right?"

They continued to sit in silence, Brennan's expression now wary as she watched him. She could see he was thinking hard about...something, and his silence unnerved her. She searched his face intently, feeling her heart rate quickening in fear as realized she was unable to read him. Her inability to read the expressions and moods of the people around her wasn't new, and she had long ago accepted that. But Booth…he was supposed to be her exception.

"We've been here before." He said suddenly, ignoring the start from Brennan as he continued staring straight through the glass in his hand. "Haven't we Bones?"

"We've been here many times before Booth." She stated seriously, confused when a small smile touched his lips.

"Rhetorical question, but thank you." His smile disappeared as he turned to look at her again. "I meant…right here. This place. This conversation. You asking me for something I'm not sure I can give you." He hated the flash of pain that crossed her face but he couldn't be anything but honest. She'd expect no less. More to the point, she deserved no less. "Nothing's changed here Bones. And I can't…" He paused, glancing away from her, unable to give voice to his final thought.

"You can't what Booth?" Brennan asked hesitantly.

He looked back at her, face expressionless as his gaze bored into hers. He remained like that for so long that Brennan thought he'd refuse to answer. He reached over and picked up his untouched beer, taking a long, fortifying drag before putting it back down.

"I can't risk it all on someone who is not willing to do the same for me." He said quietly, his voice low as the words forced themselves past his lips.

Silence fell as they both processed his words, Booth cursing himself for voicing his fear and Brennan unsure how to react to his tortured words. She wanted him, she knew that now. She'd known that as soon as her plane had touched down in Maluku, if she was honest with herself. And she'd come to the conclusion that she wanted to attempt a relationship with him. She wanted to try…but what she didn't know was if she had it within her to risk everything for it.

"You know what I want, Bones?" Booth asked suddenly, his expression fierce as he watched her. He waited for the slight shake of her head before continuing, uncaring of how his next words sounded as he decided to hell with it. There had been so many half-truths and flat out lies between them, maybe it was time for one last batch of brutal honesty. Even if it scraped them both raw in the process. "Someone who is willing to fight for me. For us. Rebecca…she forced me out when things got too complicated, unwilling to risk losing her precious independence." He was unable to completely mask the bitterness in his voice. "And Hannah," he took a deep breath, "well, we both know how that one went, right Bones? She couldn't let go of her nomadic lifestyle long enough to actually consider a real future with me."

"And me?" She asked quietly as he fell silent, unsure if she wanted to hear what he had to say but unable to prevent herself from asking the question.

"You quite literally pushed me away. You couldn't let go of your science and logic long enough to take a chance on me. And I understand why, Bones, I do. But it doesn't make the fact that you wouldn't even try for me hurt any less." Booth paused, taking a breath to calm his now racing heart. "It shouldn't be too much to ask, right Bones? For someone…anyone…to find me worth fighting for." He shrugged lightly, a self-deprecating smile on his face. "Maybe it is."

Booth looked away from Brennan, coming to regret how revealing his words were. All he had wanted to do was explain why he couldn't give her anything more right now and yet he had said so much more. Now all he wanted to do was go home, pass out in his bed and wake up tomorrow morning with this conversation nothing but a distant memory. Booth picked his drink up again and drank quickly, staring straight ahead of him as he drained the bottle. As soon as he finished he placed the bottle back on the table and reached into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet. He grabbed a few bills, only looking back at Brennan when he'd placed them on the table.

"It's late Bones. I'm going to get going. See you tomorrow, ok?" He asked, unable to leave without confirming that tomorrow they could still be…them.

With Brennan's nod in agreement, Booth turned and walked quickly out of the bar, taking a relieved breath of fresh air when the door shut behind him. He started to walk back down the street before he stopped, his mind back on the woman he had just left. They had arrived together, and he couldn't in good conscious let her leave alone. He changed direction, instead walking over to the bench on the other side of the road directly across from the bar. He sat down, making himself as comfortable as he could be while he waited for his partner to exit.

Brennan watched Booth leave, finding herself grateful that she was being left alone to process this new information.

She replayed the conversation with Booth over and over in her head. _"It shouldn't be too much to ask, right Bones? For someone…anyone…to find me worth fighting for." _Brennan glanced at her watch, frowning minutely as she realized she had wasted thirty minutes remunerating over something that been decided for her a long time ago.

It defied all logic but she had her evidence. It may not be _her_ version of evidence, the kind you can measure or quantify but it _was_ evidence. This time, she was leading with her heart. Booth had spent six years teaching her how to do that, even if she had never before put that theory into practice. She envisioned a few stumbling blocks along the way but eventually she would come through it…after all, she did have an incredibly steep learning curve. She knew what she had to do. She had to fight. For him…maybe even for herself.

She stood up, buttoning her jacket as she did so. She exited the bar, wrapping her arms around herself as the chill hit her. She lifted her hand up to hail a cab but noticed a familiar figure sat across the street. She lowered her hand and considered him for a moment before crossing the road, coming to a stop in front of him.

'Booth." A small smile crossed her face. "You waited?'

'I couldn't leave you, Bones." He said with a small shrug, standing to face her. "Who knows what kind of trouble you'd get into." He made a conscious effort to smile, hoping to leave their previous conversation behind. His expression turned grateful as Brennan smiled in return. "Come on. I'll take you home.'

Booth held out his arm. Automatically, Brennan looped her arm through the crook in his, her mind focused on one word.

Home.

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><p>FIN<p> 


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